Water...The elixir of life. So plentiful that, due toit, earth is also called the blue planet. But, what does water have to do withall the textiles and apparels that we use?
Textile industry is water intensive. On an average 200litres of water is used to make 1 kg of textile. Water is used in every aspectof textile making right from cleaning the raw material, till flushing, dyeing,and bleaching, throughout the whole production. A recent survey states thatglobal consumption of water raised six fold, which is more than double the rateof growth of population. The chemicals used in the textile industry are mainlyused on polyester and conventionally made natural fibres. Even organic fibresare chemically treated. Just because the apparel consists a label marked'organic', it does not necessarily mean that the fibres are processed withoutusing any chemicals which are later not discharged into our ecosystem infectingit gradually.
Apart from the quantity of water used, what really mattersis that the water used by the textile industry is not cleaned before it isdischarged. A host of various chemicals used by the textile industry during theprocess of fabric, and apparel making is strongly proven to create healthissues, when dumped into waterways; untreated. The untreated water causesserious damage to both living beings, and the environment, if it is notproperly treated before being discharged.
Do Polyester Fibres Involve A Smaller Water Footprint?
Polyester manufacturers generally argue that polyester doesnot have any water footprint, as its making consumes less water comparativelyover other natural fibres. Though it is right up to a certain extent, there arestill other aspects of the process, which needs to be considered. The weavingpart of the process consume the usage of same chemicals, dyeing agents,finishing chemicals, softeners, and other finishes such as anti-wrinklingagents. The base color of the recycled polyester yarn ranges from off-white toyellow. As it is difficult to achieve consistency for pale shades, to make itcomplete white, chlorine based bleach is used. To make the shades in a uniformway, the fabric is dyed and re-dyed several times, which consumes a lot ofwater. A report claims that recycled yarns consume 30% more dye to achieve thesame shade of new fibres.
Treating the waste water costs the manufacturers, due towhich they are reluctant. But when the safety of our environment is taken as amatter of priority, cost of treating waste water is not to be considered. Cleanerproduction is an appropriate approach to manipulate environmental issues. Solidmaterials which become a residue in the waste water consume the oxygen neededby animals and plants living in water. Treating waste water removes much of thesuspended solids as possible before the remaining water, known as effluent isdischarged back to the environment.
The priority and emphasis of the current period is treatingthe textile industry waste water. Low cost, and straight forward interventionshave given significant money savings and environmental improvements. This willimprove the quality of production while minimizing the cost of production,simultaneously.
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